LivingWaterAeration

A healthy pond is a beautiful pond. And a healthy pond is one that is richly saturated with dissolved oxygen. All the hassles associated with maintaining an attractive fish pond, from reducing algae levels in the water, to ensuring the health of your fish and plant life, are all directly dependent on a consistent supply of oxygen. Not only that, essential bacteria are also better able to deal with breaking down waste matter, when there is a substantial amount of free oxygen in the water.

Compromising on the oxygen requirements of a pond is the biggest mistake you can make as a pond owner and enthusiast. Particularly for larger ponds that are home to Bass and Bream for example, proper aeration methods are essential if you want to keep the water quality as high as possible.

Investing in a decent pond aerator system also goes a long way to keeping your water superbly clean and crystal clear further augmenting the pond’s beauty.

Chief Causes for the Lack of Oxygen in Large Ponds

There are number of factors that can cause oxygen levels to be reduced in a mass of water like that in a large pond. A pond that does not contain at least 3mg of oxygen per liter will not be able to sustain the life of your fish. And this is the bare minimum. It is crucial for pond owners to focus on suitable aeration methods that will prevent oxygen levels from depleting.

The following factors which are known to deplete oxygen levels in conditions where bodies of water are exposed - can happen alone or in tandem and you should realize the importance of trying to counter them as a pond owner.

Take note of some of the ways in which we lose natural levels of oxygen because of the effects of weather:

• Hot and dry weather can warm up the water in a pond thereby reducing its capacity to hold amounts of oxygen. On an especially hot day evaporation can increase this by causing a drain of oxygen from the water.

• When the water in your pond becomes warmer the fish experience a jump in their metabolism. This results in them consuming more oxygen through their gills. This we know is because fish are cold blooded and therefore they are directly affected by the temperature of their natural environment which in this case is water of course.

• Too much still air or a lack of wind can further reduce oxygen levels. This is because wind facilitates the transfer of oxygen from the air directly in contact with the pond’s surface.

• Another serious effect hot weather can have on your pond is that the upper layers of the water, about the first 4-6 feet, can pick up a temperature which is much higher than that of deeper levels in the pond. This is a common scenario with larger and deeper ponds which have a depth of 8 feet or more.

When this happens, the warmer upper layers of water do not mix with the lower cooler layers. This separation of water layers is called stratification. The deeper parts of the pond can become stagnant with extreme changes in climate. So in very hot weather this can seriously reduce oxygen levels in the bottom layer of water and toxins and waste matter will not break down quickly enough as a result.

The opposite can also prove a nightmare when a sudden cold front or heavy rain occurs. Here the cooler upper layers of the pond tend to sink to the bottom of the pond, and cause the bottom layer which is usually low in oxygen anyway, to rise and mix with the upper levels of the pond. This resultant depletion of oxygen on the upper levels can be detrimental to your fish which normally reside there.

Excessive cloud cover can also slow down the photosynthesis of plants in your pond by a lack of sunlight - effectively reducing their natural production of oxygen.

Remember also that in a pond where there is a high concentration of organic waste there will be in most cases too little oxygen available to allow for the breakdown of these wastes. A dirty pond is a recipe for disaster and can cause an algae bloom to occur very quickly.

The Easy and Natural Way to Fight Algae

Algae can be very destructive to a large fish pond, and if not checked in time can progressively spread like fire and reduce any pond to a literal swamp in your garden. To understand how to prevent algae from taking over a pond you need to get a grasp of the factors that allow algae to thrive.

Before rushing out and buying potentially harmful chemicals to solve the algae problem, consider this: algae flourish when the water is rich in nutrients and oxygen. Your plants also require the same and the secret lies in populating your pond with just the right blend of fish and plant life.

Prevention is better than cure as they say. A good rule of thumb is to always maintain a ratio of up to 80% plant life in your pond against 20% of fish. And you thought plants were only there to make a pond look good. The first thing that plants will do is compete for the nutrients found in the water.

They live on these nutrients and will absorb them constantly. The overall ecology of a pond depends on the plants’ effectiveness in consuming the wastes produced by aquatic life and fish in the pond. Waste matter that is produced by your fish constitutes a natural fertilizer for the plants.

The most important ingredient in this process is oxygen. For your plants to do their job properly they need to be fed with quality levels of dissolved oxygen. The challenge lies then in getting a high concentration of free oxygen in the water. This is where a good pond aerator starts to make sense.

So in summary here’s the trick: Make sure you always have a huge distribution of plant life in your pond. Then make sure you deliver them tons of dissolved oxygen. Your plants then have no trouble in absorbing nutrients in the water literally starving algae out of business.

And then through the process of photosynthesis the plants will also give you back decent levels of oxygen which are vital to the life of your pond. The natural bacteria will also play its part in reducing the food necessary for algae survival.

Keep your plants and bacteria happy and the algae will never know what hit them.

How Pond Aerators Work to Oxygenate a Large Pond

Many pond owners don’t even realize that the chief cause of fish dying is a result of a serious lack of oxygen in the water. How this happens briefly, is that an over the limit level of organic and mineral pollution is not properly taken care of. This in turn reduces the oxygen levels in the water making it harder for the fish to survive.

Pond aerators are able to reduce the excessive waste levels creating just the right balance and enabling healthy amounts of oxygen for sustaining the fish life in your pond.

Another important and often overlooked benefit is that of how rising air and bubbles from the bottom of a pond work to release harmful gases that get trapped in the water’s molecules. And then as the water is always in a constant upstream the water molecules are refreshed and fill with clean air when they reach the pond’s surface.

The best levels of oxygen to aim for in a large fish pond are between 3mg and 5mg of oxygen per liter of water. Higher than this is even better and the use of aeration equipment presents the best way to achieve these healthy oxygen levels.

There are Two Methods Used in Aerating Bodies of Water Like Lakes and Large Ponds.

The first is known as surface aeration. Aerating a large fish pond can be achieved with adding a useful water feature like a fountain. Not only does it improve the overall aesthetics of a pond it also works by drawing amounts of water from the pond and then launching it a few feet above the surface of the pond.

The actual aeration takes place when the water makes direct contact with the air and picks up oxygen on the way. However bear in mind that merely relying on surface aeration methods will not be sufficient for boosting healthy oxygen levels in your pond. This is due to the fact that the impact of fountain aeration is limited to only the top layers of water in your pond. What about when you go deeper?

This is where the second method of aeration comes in. This one is aptly called subsurface aeration and obviously depends on how water in the pond can be fed with oxygen from the bottom.

Subsurface aeration works by the consistent introduction of air bubbles from the bottom of the pond. These bubbles are naturally distributed in the water and rise to the surface based on their weightlessness in front of gravity. Aeration occurs when the mixing of these bubbles in the water promotes a transfer of oxygen into the water molecules. Air is made up of mainly nitrogen and up to 22% is pure oxygen.

The best approach in significantly aerating a large pond would be to combine these two methods of aeration. But remember that you should never sell yourself short on subsurface aeration. A good idea would be to invest in the best subsurface aeration system you can afford, and be sure to take into consideration the size and depth of your large pond. You can then look at beautifying your pond with a nice fountain adding further supplement to your water aeration system.

Things to Look for When Buying a Pond Aerator

The pond aerator you’re going to be looking for is properly termed a Diffused Aeration System. It is the ideal solution for aerating large fish ponds, especially those that are deeper then 6 feet.

When buying a diffused aerator be sure to check that all its components are in place. Diffused aerators are typically packaged with three vital components.

These are: an air compressor which produces the vital air you are going to be pumping into your pond; the air hose that transports the air; and the air diffuser.

The air diffuser is the unit that you will be placing strategically on the floor of your pond. It is also responsible for making thousands of lovely little air bubbles that will spread much needed oxygen throughout the depths and breadth of your pond.

It also causes fabulous amounts of circulation essentially preventing stagnation on all water levels.

One of the advantages of going with a diffuser type aerator is that electrical safety is maintained. The air compressor can be safely positioned and there are no working electrical parts installed anywhere near or inside the pond.

Always check that the hose provided is of a substantial length. You might need a rather long piece of hose if your electricity supply is located at a distance from the pond. This is often the case so the last thing you want is to be stuck with a hose that can’t reach the diffuser.

Also try to find out what the maximum life cycle duty of your diffuser aerator system is known for. The best diffuser aerators can be operated absolutely continuously with very low risks of failure. This is crucial since your pond needs 24 hour aeration.

It will also help a great deal to buy a unit that requires little or no maintenance. You don’t have time to oil the motor so look for an aerator whose motor is oil-less.  

Long term reliability will require you to clean up the system once in a while, 2-3 years at the most. This has got to be easy and getting to critical parts for cleaning need not be a major issue.

Maintenance on your part would merely involve cleaning the air filter and rarely would you have to replace a gasket or diaphragm. Other than that everything else should be a breeze.  

Additional Benefits of Using a Diffuser Aerator for Your Pond

•    Elimination of water stratification
•    No more bad odors emanating from your pond
•    Greatly improved life span of your fish
•    Dramatic reduction of nutrients and little chance of Algae developing
•    Reduced mosquito presence on your pond
•    Limited organic waste collecting at the bottom
•    Vibrant plant and fish life due to oxygen rich habitat